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Artist: They Might Be Giants
Song: We Want A Rock
Album: Flood
Intro Chords: (C G D G) X4
Verse1:
Am D G C
Where was I? I forgot the point that I was making
Am B Em Em(D)
I said if I was smart that I would save up for a piece of string
C G D G
And a rock to wind the string around
Pre Chorus 1:
C G D G
Everybody wants a rock to
C G D G
Wind a piece of string around
C G D G
Everybody wants a rock to
C G D G
Wind a piece of string around
Chorus:
A B C D
Throw the crib door wide
G D C -
Let the people crawl inside
A B C D
Someone in this town
G D C
Is trying to burn their playhouse down
C G D G
They want to stop the ones who want
C G D G
A rock to wind a string around
C G D G
But everybody wants a rock to
C G D G
Wind a piece of string around
A B C D
Throw the crib door wide
G D C -
Let the people crawl inside
A B C D
Someone in this town
G D C -
Is trying to burn their playhouse down
C G D G
They want to stop the ones who want
C G D G
A rock to wind a string around
C G D G
But everybody wants a rock to
C G D G
Wind a piece of string around
Verse 2:
If I were a carpenter, I'd hammer on my piglet
I'd collect the seven dollars and I'd buy a big
prostetic forehead and Wear it on my real head
Pre CHorus 2:
Everybody wants prosthetic
Foreheads on their real heads
Everybody wants prosthetic
Foreheads on their real heads
Chorus 2:
Throw the crib door wide
Let the people crawl inside
Someone in this town
Is trying to burn their playhouse down
They want to stop the ones who want
Prosthetic foreheads on their heads
But everybody wants prosthetic
Foreheads on their real heads
Bridge:
Em Em(D) C G D G
Em Em(D) C G D E
Chorus:
Throw the crib door wide
Let the people crawl inside
Someone in this town
Is trying to burn their foreheads down
They want to stop the ones who want
A rock to wind a string around
But everybody wants a rock to
Wind a piece of string around
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Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
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Dominic Badass |
#1 by Dominic Smith at Jun 25, 1971 at 11:21 AM EST |
| Naw...it's written from the point of view of a trend follower (or slaesman) about how cool the trend is. The middle part expresses the narrator's worries about people who make fun of trends. | |
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jordan Average |
#2 by jordan mcm at Dec 22, 1971 at 7:29 PM EST |
| A friend once told me years ago that the rocks were pet rocks and the prosthetic foreheads were condoms. The reference to children is there to show that people are trying to stop the fun. In other words let people do what they want to do whether that be having pet rocks or using condoms. | |
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Dan Wanna Be |
#3 by Dan Z at Mar 4, 1974 at 11:06 AM EST |
| "Throw the crib door wide let the people crawl inside. Someone in this town is trying to burn their playhouse down." this would be black people, someone is trying to burn their "playhouse" "They want to stop the ones who want a rock to wind a string around," the black people want to stop the KKK. yes, this makes sense. i think you misread the lyrics. | |
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Phillip Average |
#4 by Phillip Nguyen at Sep 18, 1974 at 6:07 PM EST |
| this song is about fads, but one specifically... the ku klux klan: rock = head, string = noose playhouse = churches prosthetic forehead = pointy white hats | |
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brock Average |
#5 by brock someone at Mar 14, 1975 at 10:26 PM EST |
| interesting theory on the KKK, but... I'm not sure this theory aligns with these lyrics "they want to stop the ones who want a rock to wind a string around"...if the people who want the rock to wind the string around (OWWRTWSA) are the KKK, wouldn't it be the OWWRTWSA being the ones burning down the playhouses? I do think there is something in the hiding in the churches though...I hadn't given it much thought before. | |
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Dan Average |
#6 by Dan Johnson at Oct 22, 1975 at 7:30 AM EST |
| I think its about fake people who jump on the band wagon when something is currently "IN" via 'Everybody wants a rock to wind a piece of string around.' The line, "They want to stop the ones who want a rock to wind a string around" to me refers to the media or corporate america or whatever trying to get people off the latest trend and hooked on something else. They'll spend so much on marketing, subliminal messages, etc. to convince people that the current thing is out of style and the new thing is where its at now. | |
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Brett Professional |
#7 by Brett Czap at Jan 27, 1979 at 11:52 AM EST |
| Don't take this too seriously, but someone once claimed it was predicting the Persian Gulf war: "Everybody wants Iraq to wind up peace around spring." | |
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Damien Wanna Be |
#8 by Damien Pritchard at Feb 12, 1979 at 3:15 AM EST |
| pet rocks... condoms... christian symbols?... definitely not. i like the idea of baseball, however the "throw the crib door... burn their playhouse down" seems ignored and unexplainable. i'll still stick with the KKK, until i hear a better argument (for something else or against mine). | |
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Subhash Average |
#9 by Subhash Shady at Feb 14, 1979 at 3:20 AM EST |
| Going really deep here and I don't know if anyone's going to buy this but here's my two cents: The first lines, "Where was I? I forgot the point that I was making" The singer is lost in life or doesn't know where s/he's going like an adolescent freshly out of high school maybe, and hasn't yet decided what they're doing. Then "if I was smart that I would save up for a piece of string and a rock to wind the string around" is refering to being "smart" as in going to college, getting a degree and a good job. The string is refering to life and buying it means establishing it with the money you'd have from your great job (I'd agree that that's the typical view of the average american out of highschool; to go to college and make lots of money). The rock having the string around it would be the central point where your life is wrapped around such as a spouse, children, large investment, deity ...etc (the focal point of your life and money). "Everybody wants a rock to wind the string around" means just that; everybody wants what was described above. Now this is where it gets deep and religious... In Christianity teachers (pastors, priests, what have you) all proclaim the gospel of Jeses who refered to people (especially those who believe in Him) as His sheep, His lambs and His children. That's to say, they are like children and lambs; they really have no idea what's going on sometimes and need protection and guidance. "Throw the crib door wide let the people crawl inside." is refering to how people are like children and need to be in their "crib" for protection from themselves (nod if you agree people are pretty self-destructive in their life style if they don't have some guidance). That crib would be a religion or guidance of a deity with teachers (in this case Christianity and the Christian God Jahova). Now this is tricky and a little up in the air; "Someone in this town is trying to burn their playhouse down. They want to stop the ones who want a rock to wind a string around." I think is refering to the cults who hide under the guise of Christianity. The cults would be those that proclaim to be the way to Christ if you follow their religious rules (a false doctrine) consciously or unconsciously misleading the people (children). The "playhouse" could be interchangable in this case with the "crib." "If I were a carpenter I'd hammer on my piglet, I'd collect the seven dollars and..." I believe this part is just symbolic. 1: Jesus was a carpenter. 2: Jesus cast the demons from a demon-possessed man into pigs which then ran off a cliff and died (that's refering to the piglet (I know that one's a bit of a stretch)). 3: "Seven" from the seven dollars is a symbolic number from the Bible that means wholeness, completeness, also one of God's favorite numbers. "...I'd buy a big prosthetic forehead and wear it on my real head." The "big prostetic forehead and wearing it on your real head" I believe is refering to how in heaven there will be the 144,000 who have the name of God written across their foreheads and also God's children on Earth that others will all know them for their love and works. As for "buying" the "prosthetic forehead"; the cults often offer to "sell" salvation if you do the rules outlined in their religion, sadly; and doing those things will guarentee your spot in heaven. Now having said that I'm not sure exactly what the "If" in "If I was a carpenter" means if it even has any relevance. And there's my two cents. Thanks for listening. | |
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chOxY Rhythm Player |
#10 by chOxY at Apr 14, 1979 at 11:49 PM EST |
| Yeah, it's about fads... I think the line "Someone in this town is trying to burn their playhouse down, they want to stop the ones who want..." is about the ones who want to "stop" the fashion trends, but they can't because "Everybody wants prosthetic foreheads on their real heads". Oh... and maybe they sing about a rock to wind a string around (and prosthetic foreheads) to show how silly those trends are? i.e. if you are a good salesman, you can sell a piece of shit to the people and they'll all buy it because it's "cool" to have it. | |
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Justice Wanna Be |
#11 by Justice Fish at May 7, 1981 at 1:44 PM EST |
| this is totally about fads and people doing whatever is considered "cool" | |
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Mike Average |
#12 by Mike Dawgg at Dec 15, 1981 at 2:25 PM EST |
| i was one of those with the klingon foreheads | |
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Simon (Si) Lead Player |
#13 by Simon (Si) Brown at May 29, 1983 at 12:08 AM EST |
| well said about fads indeed | |
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Tyler Average |
#14 by Tyler at Mar 8, 1984 at 12:47 AM EST |
| agreed. its about fads and how stupid they are and how quickly they shift. Rodan2000 | |
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Tim Professional |
#15 by Tim Marchant at Dec 2, 1986 at 10:46 PM EST |
| I like the kkk idea, not sure if it's true. Definitely about fads, though. As a Christian, I used to like to look for Christian messages in TMBG songs, but I think that's a red herring. At least one of the Johns has stated that they don't believe in God. Even if they do, any Christian meanings always seem kind of flimsy to me. The KKK thing makes a lot more sense. | |
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Frost Wanna Be |
#16 by Frost Bite at Oct 2, 1995 at 8:20 PM EST |
| I always thought of this song as being about stupid fads... Like pet rocks... with little string leashes.. Heh heh. And don't forget prosthetic Klingon foreheads! | |
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amy Average |
#17 by amy at Nov 14, 1996 at 2:13 PM EST |
| Piglet is a piggy bank. "If I were a carpenter" is a reference to an old song lyric (look it up), it's not a reference to Jesus (other than a second-hand reference). So, he smashes his piggy bank with a hammer to get the seven bucks he has saved to buy the fake forehead. Not complicated. Burning down the playhouse is also a reference to other song lyrics that I think originated long ago in the blues community. I'm sure the phrase appears in many many songs. I believe it's a sort of threat to out-do or defeat someone, but I was also told once that it an allusion to infidelity -- to burn (or tear) someone's playhouse down is to sleep with his woman. Maybe sort of like mowing someone else's grass? It's not very obvious or literal, but I can see it. TMBG used to twist up old rock and pop lyrics a lot. They don't do it much anymore, but their early work is full of mangled lyrics from well-known songs. A lot of younger fans miss the references and get really, really confused. The baseball interp is very interesting but doesn't cover all the bases, so to speak. I've always taken this song to be about pet rocks, fads, and (obviously) a pun on "We wanna rock." I like to think the pun came first and the rest of the song was built around it. | |
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Anthony Wanna Be |
#18 by Anthony Amell at Dec 9, 1997 at 6:02 PM EST |
| This song is about baseball. a rock to wind the string around = a baseball prosthetic foreheads on their real heads = baseball caps Obviously, not everyone in the town is a baseball fan, but the singer is. | |
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Squirrels Lead Player |
#19 by Squirrels Dyrant at Jan 23, 1998 at 8:27 PM EST |
| I think this song I hilarious... and catchy | |
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Satan SAF! Rhythm Player |
#20 by Satan SAF! Lucifer at Mar 15, 2000 at 3:58 PM EST |
| oh, i realise i never gave an explanation for: "if i were a carpenter, i'd hammer on my piglet" in metalsmithing, pig iron or pig lead (piglet?). is just raw metal. i think this is mostly meant as a pun/joke, but also to provide an image of a carpenter, perhaps working on a cross to be burned. | |
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A.K.A. Steven Average |
#21 by A.K.A. Steven Stelacio at May 11, 2000 at 9:02 PM EST |
| well said about fads indeed | |
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Derek Average |
#22 by Derek Lamberty at Jan 3, 2002 at 6:54 PM EST |
| Censorship. | |
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